Property Group

As residents of East Kessler Park, Kings Highway Conservation District, Dells District, and Kessler Plaza, our love of Oak Cliff runs deep, and our knowledge knows no bounds. From the extraordinary architecture, to the lush landscape of our land, to the community that we serve, our combined 59 years of living, loving, and experiencing the beauty and growth that Oak Cliff has shown us makes us FIERCELY protective, and absolute advocates for our neighborhood! We look forward to our continued love affair with the best neighborhood in Dallas!

quality flavors, is always at the top of our list before the (restaurant’s) aesthetic.”

A foodie at heart, items labeled “Lexy’s” on the menu denote Alexa’s personal endorsement of her favorite dishes.

Julian, who first made his name as “the Son” in Trinity Groves’ Beto & Son, developed the menu for Lexy’s and says the first iteration leaned heavily on salads, hummus and other light dishes.

While he expected those items to be the best-sellers, he quickly reworked the menu when ticket after ticket came in with orders for more savory items.

“What I found is that women eat differently around other women than they do around men,” Julian says. “I realized that we needed more things that women were going to want to indulge in as opposed to choosing because it’s the lighter option.”

The steak and frites, Lexy’s spicy rigatoni pasta and lobster grilled cheese are the best sellers on the dinner menu. On the brunch menu, the fried chicken sandwich and the Lexy’s stacked strawberry eclair are fan favorites.

One of Alexa’s favorite dishes is an interactive appetizer called the hot rock. Raw Texas wagyu beef is served alongside a steaming hot rock, and diners can cook their own meat at their table before adding toppings and eating it.

“I think we’re really about the experience when it comes to restaurants. We love experiences, and that’s why we try to provide people with them,” Alexa says.

Lexy’s customer base has taken the idea of a restaurant full of experiences and run with it.

The champagne vending machine has become an Instagram photo mecca, and “girl gangs” show up for meals in high heels, puffy dresses, trendy earrings and full glam makeup.

“(Customers) can come in their yoga pants and feel comfortable and not feel like they have to get dressed up to come here. But if they want to get dressed up to come here, absolutely, please do. I cannot wait to see your outfit,” Alexa says.

When Lexy’s was still just an idea, Julian says he anticipated it would be a female-driven restaurant. He had no idea it would become a feminine oasis among West Dallas eateries.

On a Saturday night, Julian says the number of men in the restaurant could likely be counted on one hand.

“I’ve had girls tell me like they like coming here because they feel safe, they feel like they can come hang out with friends, and they’re not going to be bothered by creepy men at the bar or like men that are trying to hit on them,” Alexa says. “It’s just kind of evolved into that, and honestly I’m not mad at it.”

Lexy’s, 3011 Gulden Lane, 214.833.4175

We worked with Bart during one of the hottest housing markets in recent history. Bart stuck with us through several offer cycles, and each new house he found was better than the last. His background in architecture and construction is a huge plus. He always has a flashlight in the car and is ready to crawl down below a house. You won’t be disappointed with his skills and work ethic.

Thanks Bart for everything!

-Maggie M.

BART THRASHER Realtor®

bartthrasher@dpmre.com

469.583.4819

Story by EMMA RUBY | Photography by YUVIE STYLES

COULD THE NEXT WORLD-SHIFTING TECHNOLOGY COMPANY BE UNDER DEVELOPMENT IN KESSLER PARK?

Taylor Shead certainly thinks so.

As it stands right now, Shead sometimes gets quizzical looks when she explains that her company, STEMuli, is creating the first educational metaverse that will turn school into a video game.

But rather than being discouraged by the confusion, Shead says it is part of the motivation to build her company into a household name.

“I believe it’s going to change the way people see and think about the world and what’s possible,” Shead says.

Born and raised in Plano, Shead was the youngest of seven children who all went on to become Division 1 athletes. She says she spent her childhood working for good grades and academic accomplishments, always striving for validation from her parents by doing her best to live up to the expectations set by her older siblings.

Like her siblings, Shead went on to be a Division 1 athlete, playing basketball at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. At the time, she wanted to become a facial reconstruction surgeon.

Shead says she struggled in her first year of college and lost her scholarship. But what was at first an event that caused “turmoil and grief” eventually planted the first seed that would grow into Shead’s passion for accessibility in education.

At the time, the first iPhone had just been released, but Shead says she was frustrated that technology companies had not yet begun finding ways to integrate technology and her schoolwork.

“When I would go on the road as a college athlete, my education wasn’t everywhere I was. I was looking at these apps on my phone like, how does this make sense? If I’m flying all around the country playing basketball, why are my notes not here? Accessibility to education is the problem that I experienced,” Shead says.

While living in California, Shead began attending entrepreneurship mentorships. She set her sights on starting a business, and her vision was to create a space that would connect students with mentors from around the world over video chat.

In 2013, Shead moved back to Dallas after realizing she had “the second-largest school district in Texas in her backyard.” In 2016, she launched STEMuli.

“I was on a mission to prove who I am to the world,” Shead says.

That first iteration of STEMuli, which utilized video chat and online communication for education, resulted in Shead being uniquely prepared for the challenges of the pandemic. Shead had already been working with Dallas ISD on a technology learning plan, so she was familiar with the district’s technological capabilities.

“I didn’t even have to call them to know that they were not in the position to be able to get kids online and connected with their teachers,” Shead says. “And so it was a business decision, it was a big pivot for us.”

Shead agreed to use STEMuli to develop a virtual classroom for Dallas ISD teachers. A year later, in August 2021, the first educational metaverse was released.

The video game integrates state curriculum standards with a playable hero’s quest. The game is something that can be used supplementally in the classroom, but it’s also something students can take home and play on the evenings or weekends.

“It’s supposed to absolutely disrupt education in the way that we know it functions,” Shead says. “From an equity standpoint, if we were to only try and get our video game in classrooms, there would be so much politics and so many things that would prohibit everybody from having access to it.”

Last year, Shead became the 94th Black woman in history to raise $1 million in venture capital. She says she is one of less than a handful of Black women in education to ever accomplish the feat.

“At the same time, it means a lot, it almost means nothing,” Shead says. “Because you still have to do something with the money that you get. And you still have to make it to the next level.”

Shead hopes to take the company public within the next 10 years. How she finds time to work towards that goal while also constantly flying between California, Texas, D.C. and New York, visiting classrooms and attending her daily yoga class, she isn’t quite sure.

But she is figuring it out, she says.

And while Dallas may not be a major tech hub, she says she is not ready to move away from her home city just yet.

“I have unfinished business in Dallas. Let’s just say that,” Shead says.

ALEJANDRA ZENDEJAS FOUND HER VOICE THROUGH SNEAKERS. SHE WAS A QUIET KID WHO FOCUSED ON HER SCHOOLWORK. SHE WAS A MIDDLE CHILD, WITH AN OLDER AND YOUNGER SISTER. AND SHE WAS THE DAUGHTER OF IMMIGRANTS, WHO CAME TO OAK CLIFF FROM LEON, GUANAJUATO, MEXICO, WHEN SHE WAS 2 YEARS OLD.

By the time she was a middle school student at Greiner, Zendejas, though shy, was looking for a way to express herself.

So when her older sister, Andrea, started collecting unique sneakers, Zendejas was all in.

The sisters bonded over finding cheap sneakers at the thrift store or online, or convincing their parents to buy them a pricier pair to share.

“I remember in school, people would be like, ‘Your shoes are so cool,’ and they thought we had a lot of money because of the shoes we wore,” Zendejas says. “In my head I was like, ‘We got these on eBay.’”

Sneakers became a way for Zendejas and her sister to express themselves. She says she always felt a little more confident on days she was rocking a new pair of shoes.

That experience is the basis of Pasos For Oak Cliff, the nonprofit organization Zendejas co-founded in 2020.

Zendejas became passionate about community service while a full-ride scholarship student at the University of Texas, where she joined the school’s LULAC chapter and served as president. Her time in the organization opened her eyes to her potential for community impact.

“I had the assumption that if I’m not a citizen or if I can’t vote, I can’t make a difference,” Zendejas says. “I learned that’s not the case. Having a voice and telling other people how to vote is having a voice in the community.”

After graduating with a math degree in 2017, Zendejas returned to Oak Cliff, where she started tutoring students.

She became friends with and later started dating Jesse Acosta, a recent UT grad who was teaching at Kimball High School. They two bonded over their shared desire to serve the Oak Cliff community directly, even if they didn’t yet know how.

They also bonded over their shared love for sneakers.

Within the first few years of her career, Zendejas became discouraged after turning down multiple Oak Cliff families who could not afford her company’s fees for tutoring.

“I had people contacting me asking for help for their kids who were in my area. And when I would bring it up to my boss, they were kind of like, ‘We can discount them some,’ but it was too expensive,” Zendejas says. “And so that’s when I started doing it on my own, because it’s not about the money.”

When the pandemic began in 2020, Zendejas and Acosta knew it was time to focus on helping students in Oak Cliff.

Zendejas recalled the confidence her sneakers had given her as a student, and they decided to hold a shoe drive. In that first event, Zendejas and Acosta gave out 150 pairs of shoes to students in need.

That was the beginning seed that has sprouted into Pasos for Oak Cliff. In the last three years, the organization has gifted students with 3,000 pairs of shoes.

“When we go buy shoes, it’s just like, ‘Oh my god, I never thought I would be doing this.’ It’s something to help other people, and it’s something I like to do,” Zendejas says. “Knowing that I’m doing it to help other people is so cool.”

Pasos for Oak Cliff hosts shoe drives for students whose families may not be able to afford new sneakers regularly. The organization also hosts a summer school program for middle school students who may need to brush up on sub - jects such as math, literature and the history of sneakers.

For high school students, Pasos for Oak Cliff helps provide opportunities for service hours and gives scholarships to college-bound seniors.

As the organization has grown, so has Zendejas’ ability to mentor students who come from a similar background that she did, she says.

“It’s a big thing, encouraging students to go as far as they want,” Zendejas says. “I believe that a lot of the students here don’t have that support, and if we can provide that for them, they’ll be able to go as far as they want.”

Zendejas now works in insurance, but she still tutors and offers test prep for high school students. Her pricing is flexible, she says, to accommodate students whose families may not have the resources to pay for the extra help.

This summer, Pasos for Oak Cliff’s shoe drive will also be an opportunity for students to pick up backpacks and other school supplies they might need for the upcoming school year.

Zendejas says she hopes to eventually transition to working for Pasos for Oak Cliff full time, but for now, she is doing alright juggling three jobs.

“Seeing the kids’ reactions, it makes me getting home tired worth it,” Zendejas says.

BARBARA BARBEE HAS LIVED IN BRAZIL, FRANCE, ENGLAND, BELGIUM, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND NEW YORK CITY, BUT OAK CLIFF IS WHERE THE 82-YEAR-OLD FEELS SHE HAS LEFT HER MOST IMPORTANT LEGACY.

A Sunset High School alumnae, Barbee set out to see the world, only to return to Oak Cliff in 1995 where she moved back into the Beverly Hills home she was raised in. But as Barbee settled into retirement, she knew she was only getting started on her life’s purpose.

“I retired so I could get busy,” Barbee says.

Hardly any time passed between Barbee’s homecoming and her first civic mission: repaving North Barnett Avenue, where the house she’d inherited from her mother stood. A petition drive was held, and the street was repaved.

Two years later, Barbee became a founding member of the Beverly Hills Neighborhood Association.

With the power of a neighborhood association behind her, the city was hit with a wave of Barbee-approved petitions. More street repavings, street lights, four-way stops and speed bumps began to trickle into the neighborhood.

Barbee even helped the group secure a school zone on Jefferson Boulevard for George Peabody Elementary School.

“When I decided to keep my little house over here in Beverly Hills, I decided that we needed to really make people understand that Oak Cliff is unique,” Barbee says. “I can’t imagine why anybody would want to live anyplace in Dallas except Oak Cliff.”

When neighbors began discussing founding an organization that would focus on Oak Cliff parks, Barbee was all in. She became a founding member of Friends of Oak Cliff and has served on the board for the last 21 years.

Her resume also includes everything from her involvement with the Old Oak Cliff Conservation League and Oak Cliff Earth Day to just about every garden club that has existed south of I-30 — not to mention an eight-year stint as the District 1 Park and Recreation Board member.

Barbee began serving on the park board in 2013 at the request of Scott Griggs, who served as the District 1 city council member at the time. She was pleased to accept the job because she believes the park department and city libraries provide the most impact to residents but are often overlooked by city officials.

“A lot of people serve on the parks board that haven’t been on their knees in the dirt. I have been for 20 years,” Barbee says. “So that’s what I’ve been doing. Getting dirt under my fingernails and pushing people to do what they were hired to do.”

While on the park board, Barbee advocated for bond money for improvements to District 1 parks, and she often spoke about the necessity for increased public sanitation in the city parks.

She says the topic may be “an ugly thing to be thinking about,” but it became her consistent rallying cry during park meetings.

“This is really important,” Barbee says. “I’ve lived all over the world, and I’ve seen that we were falling very short as far as public sanitation in the parks was concerned.”

Barbee served the maximum-allowed eightyear term on the park board, but if anyone saw the end of her park board days as a second retirement or an excuse to slow down, she certainly did not.

Instead she has been “pounding the pavement,” dedicating her time to committees for Oak Cliff Earth Day and Friends of Oak Cliff. The organizations combine her love of gardening with her natural tendency for leadership and her passion for Oak Cliff.

Barbee is responsible for the recently approved application for a historic marker from the Texas Historical Commission that will designate Kiest Memorial Garden as historically significant.

“I don’t really know how I end up with those jobs,” Barbee says.

Friends of Oak Cliff is waiting to receive the marker from the foundry so it can be displayed in the garden, she says. When the marker arrives, she will probably find herself spearheading the party planning committee for a neighborhood-wide dedication ceremony.

Barbee’s legacy is not one that will be seen through bronze statues or a name engraved into a marble marker.

Instead, it exists in the flower bed plantings in Lake Cliff Park and speed bumps slowing traffic in the streets of Beverly Hills. Her legacy can be seen during neighborhood park cleanups and as part of funding for park bathrooms.

And she hasn’t slowed down yet, so why start now?

“I guess I’ll just keep fussing, which seems to be what I do best,” Barbee says.